Alumni

Printing is not supported at the primary Gallery Thumbnail page. Please first navigate to a specific Image before printing.

Switch View to Grid View Slideshow

Interview with Agatha Burgess - OH 160

Agatha Gregory Burgess

This interview was conducted with Agatha Gregory Burgess (1903-1992), the owner and operator of Agatha's Kitchen in Union, South Carolina. Agatha discusses her experiences as the proprietor of a home-style restaurant and about how her business started, her customers, her meals-on-wheels programs, and her being interviewed by Charles Kuralt who originated the “On the Road” and “CBS Sunday Morning” series for CBS News Television.
Interview with Olive Bertha Smith - OH 167

Olive Bertha Smith

Olive Bertha Smith from Spartanburg County, South Carolina (1888-1988) graduated from Winthrop College in 1913 and served as a Baptist missionary in China for 42 years (1917-1959). She is also the author of several inspirational books, and is credited for her work as a part of the “Shantung revival” in China in the late 1920s. In this interview, Ms. Smith discusses her teaching career after graduating from Winthrop, attending seminary in Kentucky in 1914, getting into the mission field, church services and activities, teaching night school in her community, and leaving for China. She discusses her 42 years in China as a Baptist missionary, having to retire at 70 years old, the Foreign Mission Board, learning the language, training for missions work, working in China and Taiwan, and teaching English to the children. Ms. Smith also discusses her first book, Go Home and Tell (1965), which was used as a study book and became a best seller. She also briefly mentions her second and third books. Ms. Smith discusses her class pin, her involvement with religious groups at Winthrop College, her homesickness while in China, Chiang Kai-shek, her personal relationship with God, small religious communities from the past, cooking Chinese food, her travels to speak at different churches after retirement, her memories of Dr. David B. Johnson, and Dr. Glen Thomas.
Interview with Bessie Louise Garison - OH 603

Bessie Louise Garison

On April 21, 1981, Susan Rippy interviewed Winthrop alumna and former faculty member Bessie Louise Garison (1892–1985). Born in Ridgeway, SC, Garison moved with her family to Rock Hill in 1895, the same year Winthrop relocated there from Columbia. In the interview, she recalls her childhood in Rock Hill, witnessing the construction of the Winthrop campus, and attending Winthrop’s kindergarten when it began in 1899 when she was 7 years old and the Model School (later the Winthrop Training School housed in the Withers/W.T.S. Building). Garison enrolled at Winthrop College in 1908 at age 16 years old and graduated in 1912. She later returned as an Instructor of Fine Arts, serving from 1937 to 1958. She reflects on student life during her college years, her experiences in the Model School, and her observations of campus buildings, uniforms, professors, and daily routines. Garison also shares insights into how Winthrop evolved between her time as a student and her later career as a faculty member.
Interview with Beatriz Simon

Beatriz Simon

IN PROCESSING

This recording includes information about foreign student life at Winthrop. The interviewee is from San Salvador, El Salvador and much information concerns her native country.
Interview with Gladys Talbert Barron - OH 117

Gladys Louise Talbert Barron

This interview was conducted with Gladys Louise Talbert Barron (1906-2003). Mrs. Barron graduated from Winthrop College in 1926 with a Bachelor's degree and in 1949 with a Master's degree. In this interview Ms. Barron discusses her memories of Winthrop College including Winthrop uniforms, the Blue Line, Morning Watch, YWCA, SGA, departmental clubs, Fine Arts Series, college chaperones, famous guests, rules, the Daisy Chain, Junior-Senior dance and the college farm. This interview is a great snapshot into the life of a Winthrop student in the 1920s.
Interview with Naomi Banks Bridges - OH 110

Naomi Banks Bridges

In her December 6, 1980 interview with her daughter Kathryn Bridges, Naomi Banks Bridges describes her schooling, time at Winthrop, and the effects of World War II on her family. Bridges concludes her interview describing Christmas day and her family’s Christmas traditions. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Ethel Ayers Davis - OH 102

Ethel Ayers Davis

IN PROCESSING

Mrs. Davis majored in Home Economics and graduated in 1923 with the first class to offer that major. She discusses her home extension work, Winthrop College in the early 1920s, teaching high school, working in Chester County as a Home Demonstration agent and the Chester School lunch program during the 1950s.
Interview with Bessie Louise Garison - OH 104

Bessie Louise Garison

In December 1980, Anne Ledford interviewed Winthrop alumna and former faculty member Bessie Louise Garison (1892–1985). Born in Ridgeway, SC, Garison moved with her family to Rock Hill in 1895, the same year Winthrop relocated there from Columbia. In the interview, she recalls her childhood in Rock Hill, witnessing the construction of the Winthrop campus, and attending Winthrop’s kindergarten and Model School (later the Winthrop Training School housed in the Withers/W.T.S. Building). Garison enrolled at Winthrop College in 1908 at age sixteen and graduated in 1912. She later returned as an Instructor of Fine Arts, serving from 1937 to 1958. She reflects on student life during her college years, her experiences in the Model School, and her observations of campus buildings, uniforms, professors, and daily routines. Garison also shares insights into how Winthrop evolved between her time as a student and her later career as a faculty member.
Interview with Primavat Khutrakul

Primavat Khutrakul

IN PROCESSING

Subjects include social customs, economics, hobbies, politics, education, Winthrop and comparisons of the U.S. and his country.
Interview with Agnes Lawton

Agnes Lawton

In her November 13, 1980 interview with Lewis P. Armistead, Agnes Lawton relays her family history and career as a teacher. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Dorothy Maddox

Dorothy Maddox

IN PROCESSING

Maddox, a 1943 graduate of Winthrop, discusses life at Winthrop, including President Phelps’ administration, classes, rules and regulations, the World War II period, physical education and sports, the School of Education, buildings on campus, expenses, class traditions and social life.
Interview with Dorothy Rauch

Dorothy Rauch

In her April 30, 1980 interview with Jeff Clark, Dorothy Rauch recalls growing up on campus and attending Winthrop during the Great Depression. In particular, Rauch shares what it was like as a Day Student and the changes she witnessed on campus. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Frances Lander Spain - OH 081

Frances Lander Spain

In her April 26, 1980 interview with Arnold M. Shankman, the 1925 graduate

of Winthrop University, Frances Lander Spain, discusses her life and accomplishments.

Spain goes into detail about her academic career prior to, during, and after her years at Winthrop, Emory University, and the University of Chicago. She discusses her work in the American Library Association, her library work in Thailand, as well as the contributions she made to the New York Public Library. In addition, Spain recounts more personal aspects of her life pertaining to her mother, husband-who had passed away by the time this interview took place, and the lives of her children.
Interview with Lonny Svantesson

Lonny Svantesson

IN PROCESSING

Subjects include social customs, economics, hobbies, politics, education, Winthrop and comparisons of the U.S. and their countries.
Interview with Lois Dean McLaughlin Taylor - OH 097

Lois Dean McLaughlin Taylor

IN PROCESSING

Taylor, a Winthrop graduate, speaks of her experiences as a teacher in the Presbyterian Missionary School at Woodstock in the Himalayan Mountains in India during 1931-1939.
Interview with Susie Westbrook - OH 119

Susie Ann Thomas Westbrook

Mrs. Susie Ann Thomas Westbrook (1906-1994), a 1927 graduate of Winthrop College, talks about her student days at Winthrop, including the Winthrop Training School, teachers, uniforms, culture, entertainment and changes to the school.
Interview with Esther Pinck

Esther Pinck

IN PROCESSING

Pinck discusses her life in Russia and coming to America. She lived in Aiken, South Carolina for several years. She discusses here time at Winthrop, her friends and of difficulties of being a Jew. Much of the interview revolves around her family and of the problems that they encountered because of their faith.
Interview with Cynthia Plair Roddey - OH 62

Cynthia Plair Roddey and Integration

In her interview with Cynthia Wilson January 22, 1979, Cynthia Roddey shares her experiences at Winthrop from 1964-1967 as the first African American student admitted to Winthrop College. Roddey details the process of applying to Winthrop, the reaction she received from the Winthrop and Rock Hill community, and her participation in student life. Roddey includes her insight on race relations today and her hopes for the future. This interview was conducted for an article for The Johnsonian, which is the student newspaper for Winthrop University.
Interview with Carrie Jerome Anderson - OH 034

Carrie Jerome Anderson

IN PROCESSING

Ms. Anderson discusses her early childhood and upbringing, education and life in Rock Hill. Subjects include farming, family life and her education at Winthrop College as a home economics major.
Interview with Emma Cooper Cockfield - OH 010

Emma Cooper Cockfield

In her 1977 interview with Ann Yarborough Evans, Emma Cockfield describes her time as a student at Winthrop from 1910-1914. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Caroline Mayo Roueche - OH 035

Caroline Mayo Roueche

IN PROCESSING

Ms. Roueche describes her experiences teaching in integrated schools, and experiences first as a high school student at the Winthrop Training School and then as a college student at Winthrop. Also discusses her grandmother and parents, her education, change of women’s roles, drugs, dating trends, and race relations.
Interview with Julia Mobley Irwin - OH 023

Julia Mobley Irwin

In her November 9, 1976 interview with Sally Tyler, Julia Mobley Irwin details her life as a day student in the early 1900s. Irwin recalls her favorite classes, describes uniforms, insists that there was never a swimming pool at Winthrop, and relates the traditions of graduation week. Irwin also shares Benjamin Tillman's message to students at her 1904 graduation ceremony. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Janie May Carroll Rice - OH 022

Janie May Carroll Rice

In her November 13, 1976 interview with Sara L. "Sally" Tyler, Janie May Carroll Rice expresses her love of Winthrop. Rice recalls President Johnson’s involvement with the students, and his desire to include religion in all aspects of campus life. Rice also defends the many rules and regulations of Winthrop. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.
Interview with Arnetta Gladden Mackey - OH 17

Arnetta Gladden Mackey

This collection includes an interview with Arnetta Gladden Mackey (1948-2009) who, along with Delores Johnson Hurt, was one of the first two undergraduate students admitted to Winthrop in 1964. She graduated from Winthrop in 1967. Mrs. Mackey discusses her childhood and family, her feelings about attending college, receiving her scholarship to Winthrop, and her feelings about attending an all-white school. She also describes her experience living in the dorm, Rat Week, her social life, her experience with her white peers, and her experience with academics. Mrs. Mackey discusses her experience with the lack of Black churches in the area, the white church she initially attended (Oakland Baptist), and the Black church (Mt. Prospect Baptist Church) she attended once Oakland Baptist refused to let her in for worship. Mrs. Mackey also discusses the reaction she received from students, faculty, and members of the Rock Hill community, as well as her life and family after her graduation.
Interview with Mary Denny Matthews - OH 016

Mary Denny Matthews

In her April 21, 1975 interview with Ann Yarborough Evans, Mary Denny Matthews shares her experiences as a student from 1915-1919 and her career at Winthrop from 1920-1942. Matthews lends stories of student life and how WWI shaped Winthrop. Matthews also explains why she decided not to teach and instead have a career at Winthrop. Matthews concludes her interview with details on the strike at Winthrop for equal pay for women. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.